(C) Sony Music Entertainment / RCA Legacy
The ultimate site about the king of the analogue age
The final disc contains the short session, that was held after the audience had left the venue. Elvis was filmed and recorded while singing four songs from his movie "Blue Hawaii" and "Early Morning Rain", a ballad from his previous years' album "Elvis Now".
Blue Hawaii (rehearsal, takes 1 & 2)
The recording starts while the rehearsal is already underway. Elvis jokes a bit and doesn't sing the complete song. I guess the group just wanted to see, how it works. The king obviously wants to get over with these songs, he can be heared saying "do anything", adding "ready when you are". The producer explains the procedure, then the band starts to play. The first take is canceled by Elvis after a few lines, the second try works well and the group moves on to the next song.
Ku-U-I-Po (rehearsal & takes 1-4)Elvis and Marty Pasetta are clowning around a bit, afterwards the harmony singers rehearse their part. Elvis just sings a few bars and the band joins in. Then the first official take begings. Jokingly the king continues the line "see the sweet hawaiian rose" with "see it blossom through his nose". The finale of the song doesn't work at all and the group has to coordinate themselves. The next try starts on the wrong foot and is canceled by the producer. Elvis reacts by asking "what the f...?". Take number three is not working well either. The king starts the verse somewhat haltingly, because he has trouble remembering the words. When it happens for the second time, he cancels the take. Finally a complete performance is archived. To move to the next song Glen Hardin plays an uptempo version of "La Paloma".
No More (takes 1-4)The first take is more or less a rehearsal. There's no count-in, everyone just starts to play and Elvis joins in. He turns the "starlight caress your hair" into "...crash your hair". Ronnie Tutt tries out different styles of drumming, in general it's not a worked out performance at all. When Elvis finally turns the dark eyes into black eyes he has to laugh and the take is falling apart. The second take is not much more. Here and there Elvis cannot remember the lyrics and he has to laugh. Different parts of the song are rehearsed, especially the ending. With take number three the group archives a complete performance, but at one point Elvis isn't sure if he should sing "arms" or "heart" and the ending isn't perfect, too. The fourth try works well and can be used for the US version of the show.
The Hawaiian Wedding Song (take 1, rehearsal, takes 2 & 3)The king tries to find into the song and rehearses the first few bars ("this is the moment"). He's obviously not sure how to start the performance. When he finally does, the band joins in and a complete performance evolves . It's played quite slowly, in-between we hear Elvis giving orders and joking. The next try isn't labled as take 2, but as a rehearsal. The beginning is very slow and the king snaps at his pianist "Can't you follow that damn thing, Glen?". When they try again, Elvis wants Mr. Hardin to play a chord change and says "Don't play that fancy shit". Even though his words are harsh, it's all in good humor. The king asks Glen to pick up the tempo and explains "...like Fats Domino", whereupon the pianist goes straight into boogie-woogie style. Now the group tries to record the tune, but unfortunately someone has to caugh and the take is aborted. Elvis jokes about the situation, then the crew tries again to tape the song. But the chord changes don't work out and the undertaking is canceled. All the coordination and rehearsing finally works out and a complete performance of "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" is archived. With the next take the presentation is perfected and the group moves on to the last song on their agenda.
Early Morning Rain (takes 1 & 2)
Jokingly Glen Hardin plays a fast, boogie-woogie
styled version of "Early Morning Rain" and some
of the musicians join in. Elvis tells the
producer, that "The Hawaiian Wedding Song" was
tough to sing and he had to work hard to get it
right when he recorded it back in 1961. In
contrast to the previous one, "Early Morning
Rain" works well right from the start. There are
some minor mistakes here and there, but it needs
just another take to iron them out. Marty
Pasetta announces "That's fantastic", the
musicians play an ironic fanfare and Elvis
finishes the session by saying "ladies and
gentlemen....".
(C) Sony Music Entertainment / RCA Legacy